KWU's Velez taking advantage of second chance

Johan Velez caught three passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday in Kansas Wesleyan’s 34-29 victory over Southwestern.

Nice numbers, good outing, but not nothing that would be considered dazzling or incredible.

Not until you consider how far Velez has come since last spring, when he was suspended for all of KWU’s spring practice session and well on his way to being an ex-Coyote.

“It was just some personal stuff in my life that I was dealing with,” said Velez, a senior wide receiver from LaQuinta, Calif., and transfer from College of the Desert (Calif.) in 2016. “I really wasn’t in a clear state of mind back then. Just made a couple of decisions I shouldn’t have — one key decision about leaving that I totally regret to this day.”

His problems manifest themselves on the field and in the classroom, where nothing was going well.

“He’s a typical kid,” KWU coach Matt Drinkall said. “He’s a million miles from home. He was a junior college transfer and really fitting into our culture and how we do stuff was a pretty big transition.

“He had a tough time on the field because he’s a tweener. He’s not quite fast enough to be an every down receiver, but he’s a tall, big kid, but he’s not quite strong enough to be a fullback or tight end. He was injured a lot as a junior.”

Velez, a tight end in 2016, saw little playing time and didn’t catch a pass. As his frustration grew, his performance on most fronts declined.

“I was kind of a selfish guy back then and I was just kind of worried about myself,” he said. “I had these dreams I wanted to go after and I was just worried about myself.”

“He was so frustrating to work with and was just a pretty negative kid that we suspended him for the entire spring,” Drinkall said. “Really, I didn’t care if he came back or not. If he stayed on the course he was on we were going to be better off without him.”

Velez was about to seek his transfer when he received a text from graduate assistant coach Braxton Peck.

“He told me I’d really dug myself a hole and either I’d give my all here or just leave,” he said. “That was the definitely the moment, when I got that text, I realized I had to straighten things up.”

It was his epiphany.

“I decided to give my all here and just really pedal to the metal,” Velez said. “Got myself back on good ground in the classroom and then just worked my way up from there.”

The transformation has been amazing. This fall Velez moved to wide receiver where he could utilize his hands and 6-foot-2, 198-pound frame. He’s played in KWU’s four games and has seven catches for 141 yards and the two touchdowns.

His play last week was crucial with leading receiver injured KaJuan Ocasio and on the sidelines.

“To his credit, having had every opportunity to quit and throw in the towel, he completely turned everything around,” Drinkall said. “He became a very positive guy, had a 3.31 (grade average) in the spring semester and has continued to do that. He’s done everything we’ve ever asked to bring him back.”

Velez said it was a matter of putting we before me.

“I’m one person and there’s 130 other guys on the team and I have to do my job to make it successful,” he said. “People don’t really get second chances a lot. Once I got the chance to come back I knew I had to be better and be the best I could possibly be.

“First gain the trust back of my teammates and the coaching staff, gain their trust to let me come back. Once I came back I knew I had to show they brought me back for the right reason and the reason was to contribute and help win. I’m doing that now.”

“When everything was happening I actually talked to him about leaving and it really upset him,” Velez said. “I had to talk to all the captains about coming back and he definitely had my back through the whole thing and was looking out for me the whole time. I love that guy to death.”

Last week, Velez caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kelly Cordova in the second quarter that gave the Coyotes a 20-17 lead. His second touchdown covered 23 yards in the fourth quarter was KWU’s final score.

“His head is really in the right place and I couldn’t be more proud of the kid and the job he’s done,” Drinkall said.